Some studies proving that speed does correlate to the amount of deaths caused:

In 2002, 13,713 fatalities *In the U.S* - about a third of all fatalities that occurred in motor vehicle traffic
crashes were speeding-related, i.e., at least one of the drivers involved in the crash was speeding.
This is the highest number of speeding-related fatalities since 1991, when 13,915 persons were
killed in such crashes.

NHTSA research has shown that crashes in which at least one driver was exceeding the legal
speed limit or driving too fast for conditions cost $40.4 billion in 2000, representing about 20
percent of the total economic cost of motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States.
Annually, about 32 percent of all fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes were speeding-related,
i.e., at least one of the drivers involved in the crash exceeded the posted speed limit or was
driving too fast for the prevailing conditions.

since 2000, the number of speeding-related
fatalities has been increasing every year.


http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speed_manage/facts.htm

quote:

Originally posted by Theresa Some studies proving that speed does correlate to the amount of deaths caused: In 2002, 13,713 fatalities *In the U.S* - about a third of all fatalities that occurred in motor vehicle traffic crashes were speeding-related, i.e., at least one of the drivers involved in the crash was speeding. This is the highest number of speeding-related fatalities since 1991, when 13,915 persons were killed in such crashes. NHTSA research has shown that crashes in which at least one driver was exceeding the legal speed limit or driving too fast for conditions cost $40.4 billion in 2000, representing about 20 percent of the total economic cost of motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States. Annually, about 32 percent of all fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes were speeding-related, i.e., at least one of the drivers involved in the crash exceeded the posted speed limit or was driving too fast for the prevailing conditions. since 2000, the number of speeding-related fatalities has been increasing every year. http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speed_manage/facts.htm

While that may be true, the study is looking at

quote:

i.e., at least one of the drivers involved in the crash exceeded the posted speed limit or was driving too fast for the prevailing conditions.

I don't know how it works in the US, but nobody drives the posted speed limit. If you're going 61 mph in a 60mph then they would be considered speeding.
What if they were doing 59mph? According to the study, the 2 mph difference may be the difference between life and death?

I'm just pulling this out of my ass, but i'm sure more that 95% of the drivers out there drive faster than the posted limit.
I remember my driving instructor telling me that its okay to speed on the highway and to follow the flow of the traffic. If the flow of the traffic is doing 115km/h in a 100km/h than its safer to drive at 115 than 100.

There might be a positive correlation between speed and accident but I believe its something that is subjective and depends on the case.


I'm not against this law as it will prevent those individuals who are actually street racing to stay off the streets and hopefully stick to the tracks, but I don't necessarily agree with the charges that are put in place.

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Does anyone have any statistics on the overall view of accidents in Canada?
I'm sure there are many other issues besides speed that people need to be aware of.

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Last edited by exstasie on Nov-02-2007 at 00:37

I do have to say, even though I'm firmly on the side of those saying that it's stupid to go 50 over the limit, it is also misleading to claim that speeding is the cause of an accident because a large number of accidents involve at least one driver going over the speed limit.

This isn't exactly surprising, because most people drive faster than the speed limit. It's extremely rare to make any car trip without passing (or being passed by) several people doing this. You need to compare the percentage of accidents involving speeding vehicles to the overall percentage of speeding vehicles, period. If, for example 50% of drivers speed, and only 33% of accidents involve a speeding vehicle, then one could actually infer that speeding is safer.

I don't know if the statistic is 50%, of course. I'd guess that it's somewhat lower than the 33% rate for accidents, but I don't know. I'm just pointing out that a single statistic taken in isolation doesn't prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Likewise, if the number of "speeding-related fatalities" is steadily increasing, and the total number of drivers is also increasing (and I believe it is), then you have to compare both rates of change to derive any meaningful conclusion.

From my very unscientific personal observations, I'd be inclined to say that unsafe lane changes are the most significant cause of collisions, especially unsafe merges onto high-speed freeways. Problem is, it's much more difficult to measure a statistic like this, because even if there's a witness (which there often isn't), you can't always rely on their observation; they just saw one car going fast, another car going slow, and boom. Even if you could measure this statistic accurately, it would still be skewed because unsafe lane changes often cause accidents for other people, while the idiot who didn't check his rear-view/blind spot chugs merrily along without a clue.

Don't mistake any of this as an implication that it's safe to drive 150 on a 100 highway. It almost never is. But I seriously, seriously doubt that the folks going 120-130 are truly causing more fatalities than the ones casually moseying over from the acceleration lane going 60. No statistics I've seen to date have enough contextual information to prove this objectively, either. The 85th percentile speed on the 400/401 is slightly above 120; ergo, that IS the safe speed according to traffic engineers who design traffic systems for a living and have no political axe to grind.

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quote:

Originally posted by fayraree what if u don't do well over the speed limit but still think ur hot shit?

then ur a good driver with a big ego

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quote:

Originally posted by geroin when the hell did i mention that you doing speed limit causes accidents, it causes fucking traffic when you go speed limit in the left lane! speeding on the highway does not cause accident if it's done in a safe manner.

too bad alot of ppl are idiots and speed and cause accidents....

and i was referring to the fact that ppl go way too fast and as soon as they encounter someone who does the real speed limit, they get road rage and act even stupider, by tryna speed around the person and get carless and end up hitting someone.

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AustralianGQ

quote:

Originally posted by AustralianGQ too bad alot of ppl are idiots and speed and cause accidents.... and i was referring to the fact that ppl go way too fast and as soon as they encounter someone who does the real speed limit, they get road rage and act even stupider, by tryna speed around the person and get carless and end up hitting someone.

I just drive up behind and hope they move the middle lane, and if they don't then I flash my lights.

This is all in the left lane. I don't understand ppl who drive the speed limit in the left lane. The left lane is for passing. When you see that someone wants to pass you, the kind thing to do would be to move over and let them pass.

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50 over isnt street racing though... its going 50 over .thats what i dont get

50 over isnt street racing though... its going 50 over .thats what i dont get

and definitely hate people going the speed limit in the left lane... in Europe you get tickets for that.. they should put more money into driver training .. i think that would ultimately reduce deaths on the roads ! .

quote:

Originally posted by jonnystel 50 over isnt street racing though... its going 50 over .thats what i dont get and definitely hate people going the speed limit in the left lane... in Europe you get tickets for that.. they should put more money into driver training .. i think that would ultimately reduce deaths on the roads ! .

If they implemented mandatory driver training in High School it could help reduce the number of problems (not just speed related).

Better to teach them when they're young and before they develop bad habits.



Just like everything, Driving Schools are corrupt. I remember watching all kinds of stories where you could go to driving schools and buy a certificate that showed you had training and what.

I've driven with lots of people and who scared as hell when I drive with them and wonder how they got a license (hmm, i could make a joke about someone on here, but odds are they won't see it :P).

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quote:

Originally posted by exstasie Just like everything, Driving Schools are corrupt. I remember watching all kinds of stories where you could go to driving schools and buy a certificate that showed you had training and what.

Not just the schools. A lot of the testers are real pantloads. One of my coworkers essentially failed every part of the test, and the examiner told her this, but gave her a pass anyway because she had to practice with her husband and he wasn't a good teacher / wasn't very nice about it.

I'm not kidding. And she thinks she's a good driver.

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quote:

Originally posted by geroin huh? so? this couldn't have happened if they were going 100-120 just like most other drivers do? how many times do i have to explain to people that SPEEDING OVER THE LIMIT DOES NOT EQUAL DEATH OR ACCIDENT!! you could be going 100 and do just as much damage as it would be going 132

a) it is improbable that the driver of this vehicle would have become airborn and then lost control upon landing if he had been doing 100 km/h as roads are designed for that speed. It is nearly impossible that that this accident would have happened had he been travelling the 70km/h speed limit on the road.

b) Clearly you have no grasp of physics.... if you are travelling 132km/h you will do significantly more damage when striking another object then if you were travelling 100km/h (all other things being equal). Are some kind of fuckin' moron? An object travelling at a higher speed then an equally massive object at a lower speed has more energy then the slower moving object... energy translates into force in a collision, force translates into damage and injury.

c) I've investigated hundreds of motor vehicle accidents, the major ones, the ones with serious injury, all happen when at least one vehicle is travelling at high speed. I've handled approximately 60 accidents in which someone was fatally injured, only one of them happened where both vehicles were travelling at proper speeds (lady pulled out from a stop and under a transport trailer).

Listen, if you want to keep driving as you do that's fine by me, but don't try and convince everyone that it's not dangerous, because it is. Make all the rhetorical arguments you want, swear up and down that you're a good and safe driver, blame other people... you're really only fooling yourself. In the end, nothing you have to say is of any real consequence... the law is the law, most people agree with it, it isn't going to change any time soon. You either need to adjust your behaviour or take your chances, up to you.

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quote:

Originally posted by RickyM you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down